Humanitarian crisis as Rohingya flee to Bangladesh

Catholic News Service

9/13/17

Rohingya refugees wait for a boat to cross a canal after crossing the border through the Naf River Sept. 7 in Teknaf, Bangladesh. MOHAMMAD PONIR HOSSAIN | REUTERS VIA CNS

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Bangladesh is bracing for a massive
humanitarian crisis because of a lack of food, sanitation, medicines and even
basic housing following the exodus of as many as 350,000 Rohingya Muslims from
Myanmar, fleeing violence in which at least 1,000 were killed in just two
weeks.

The roadside and areas along the major highway from Ukhiya to
Teknaf in Cox's Bazar, just across the river from Myanmar's Rakhine state, are
swollen with new refugees who have set up makeshift camps with bamboos and
polythene sheets to brave monsoon rains, reported ucanews.com. Many are women,
children and old people who face an uncertain future without citizenship of any
nation or even bare essentials.

Some aid groups and generous local people have sporadically provided
relief materials to refugees on the Bangladesh side of the border; in Myanmar,
aid has been stopped by the government. Aid trucks arriving at the makeshift
camps quickly ran out of food as thousands of hungry people enveloped them when
they stopped, ucanews.com reported.

Pope Francis will visit the cities of Yangon and Naypyitaw in
Myanmar Nov. 27-30, and then travel to Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nov. 30-Dec. 2,
according to the Vatican.

In Chittagong, Bangladesh, James Gomes, regional director of
Caritas, the church's charitable agency, expressed concern over the Rohingya
crisis.

"The situation is so pathetic — people living under an open
sky, without food, clothes and medicines, getting wet in the rain," Gomes
told ucanews.com in mid-September. He predicted an epidemic due to unhealthy
conditions if people did not get help soon.

Caritas is planning to distribute food and other essentials to
the Rohingya and will begin delivering it once donors secure necessary funds,
he added.

The U.N. Refugee Agency reports at least 300,000 Rohingya Muslims
entered Bangladesh within two weeks of a military crackdown in Myanmar's
northern Rakhine state, triggered by an Aug. 25 Rohingya militant attack on
security checkpoints.

However, local sources claim the number is higher, as Rohingya
continue to pour into Bangladesh.

"We believe more than 350,000 Rohingya have arrived so far —
there is almost no space left near the highway, and existing unregistered camps
are bursting with new refugees. They need emergency food, medicine and housing
aid, or an epidemic might break out any time," Hamidur Rahman, a local
politician from Teknaf, told ucanews.com.

Abdul Wahab, 30, reached Bangladesh with his five-member family
Sept. 9 following a seven-day journey. He now resides in a roadside camp in
Ukhiya.

"I cannot remember when we ate last in Myanmar before
entering Bangladesh. We received some parched rice and molasses from a food
truck," Wahab said Sept. 10.

He said military had bombed their village using a helicopter and
their home was destroyed.

"My 5-year-old daughter had a nosebleed due to smoke from
bombing; she is still sick and she needs medical support. We need a place to
live and food for survival," he added.

Some Rohingya wanted get back to their homes to get supplies but
were unable as Myanmar military allegedly planted landmines to restrict their
re-entry. Myanmar's military and government, who refer to the Rohingya as
Bengalis, have made it clear that they are unwanted; successive regimes have
denied them citizenship, voting rights and access to government services.

"We wanted to get into Myanmar to get some essentials and
found some uprooted trees and displaced soil. We realized landmines had been
planted, and we returned back after pulling out some bombs," Muhammad
Taher, 23, of Buthidaung said.

A member of Border Guards Bangladesh, on condition of anonymity,
told ucanews.com that Myanmar border police have planted landmines at the
border.

Eight-year-old Muhammad Johar sat near a temporary medical center
in Teknaf with his head bandaged.

"When we fled to Bangladesh, the military started firing at
our backs and we ran for our lives. Johar stumbled, his head hit a tree and got
injured," said a neighbor of Johar's family.